What's New

Watch Video

U.N. human rights director in NYC, Craig Mokhiber. U.N. Israel-bashing personified.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas signing the treaty to join the International Criminal Court in 2014

"President Trump has a growing Palestinian problem. Without steadfast U.S. insistence on Palestinian accountability and the supremacy of American law, it is about to get a whole lot worse for Israel and America.

On Nov. 18, 2017 the Trump administration took the straightforward decision to follow the law. It told the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to get serious about peace or get out of the PLO's D.C. office. One week later, on Nov. 24, 2017, the State Department took the notice to vacate off the table. The administration was suddenly "optimistic" about Palestinian peace-seeking, law-respecting, bona fides.

At the heart of this apparent flip-flop stands the International Criminal Court (ICC). Israel's enemies have tried (and failed) to destroy the country with successive wars and terrorism for over seven decades. Plan B is lawfare, including using the ICC to criminalize, isolate, and devastate the Jewish state. The goal of lawfare is to pursue Israelis as war criminals, not to pursue peaceful coexistence...

Congress has understood this dangerous scam and has, therefore, adopted two rules specifically targeting Palestinian use of the ICC. One relates to permitting PLO offices in the U.S., and the other relates to funding for the Palestinian Authority.

Rule No. 1 is a provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, most recently adopted in May 2017. It says that if the Palestinians pursue war crimes charges against Israelis at the ICC, then a long-standing prohibition against PLO offices in the United States will kick in. The prohibition was introduced by Congress decades ago, but has not been applied because of the repeated use of a presidential waiver. The Appropriations Act provision denies the president a waiver when the ICC is brought into play.

According to the rule, with the waiver option gone, the only way to avoid closure of the PLO office is for the president to certify in 90 days 'that the Palestinians have entered into direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.'...

Palestinians weren't blindsided by the American law. They gave American law the middle finger. The only surprise was the speed at which the State Department backtracked and failed to stand firm on the notice to vacate...

And here is flagrant Palestinian violation of the law: 'We have called on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation and to prosecute Israeli officials for their involvement in settlement activities and aggressions against our people.' That's Abbas at the General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2017.

In fact, Palestinian breaches of the law have been building up for years. In December 2014 and January 2015, the 'State of Palestine' purported to recognize ICC jurisdiction over alleged Israeli war crimes. In June 2015 they sent their 'first communication' to the ICC prosecutor. In 2015 and 2016 Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki, and Secretary-General of the PLO Saeb Erekat, submitted files against Israelis to the ICC. And by the time 2017 rolled around, Erekat was openly boasting about submitting information to the ICC and 'urging it to open an immediate investigation.'

Palestinian lawfare at the ICC is a shameless in-your-face challenge to U.S. lawmakers. Ducking is not an option..."

The Trump Administration Is Letting the PLO Wage Lawfare Against Israel Article

The flag of the United Nations

U.N. document said to be funding Palestinian legal action against Israel may run afoul of U.S. policy Article